[ad_1]
CAIRO, Aug. 13 (AP) Libyan authorities said Saturday they found at least 15 migrants dead in the desert bordering Sudan, the latest tragedy involving migrants passing through the conflict-torn country. A dangerous journey in search of a better life in Europe.
The Ministry for Combating Irregular Migration in the southeastern city of Kufra said the migrants were on their way from Sudan to Libya when their vehicles broke down due to lack of fuel.
Also read | Afghanistan: 2 civilians injured in blast west of Kabul; detection in progress.
Nine other migrants survived, while two remain missing in the desert, the agency said. There are women and children among the migrants, but the agency did not detail how many.
It also did not reveal the cause of the migrants’ deaths, but said they did not have enough food and water.
It said the migrants were Sudanese – from a country that had been in turmoil for years. The migrants may be trying to reach western Libya in an attempt to board trafficking boats heading for Europe.
The agency posted images on Facebook showing what it said were the bodies of migrants who were later burned in the desert.
The tragedy is the latest in Libya’s vast desert. In June, authorities in Kufra said they found the bodies of 20 migrants in the desert after their vehicles broke down near the border with Chad.
In recent years, Libya has become a major transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
The oil-rich country was thrown into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Traffickers have benefited from Libya’s chaos in recent years, smuggling migrants across the country’s long border with six countries.
The migrants were then loaded into ill-equipped rubber dinghies and embarked on a dangerous sea voyage. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
[ad_2]
Source link
